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Ocean's Eleven
Located right on I-5/US-101, with a huge lit sign right on the side of the highway. Take the "Mission Avenue, Downtown" exit from 101. One of the premier card rooms in Southern California, located about 40 miles north of San Diego (or 80 miles south of Los Angeles). Games Game Nature: Low-stakes NL is incredibly loose and fun; the 1/1 NL in particular is wild and kooky: with buyins restricted to 20-40 and only 1 and 1 blinds, it plays a bit like online microlimit. Wait Time: Large number of tables means no wait time if you're not picky about limits or game; for low limits, wait is always short. At higher limits, fewer tables equals longer waits. For higher limit 8/16 and up and the 5/5 no limit you can call ahead and get your name on the list. Rake: $5+$1 jackpot for low-stakes games, slightly higher at high stakes (20/40 limit and 10/10 NL and above, not verified). Rake was increased from $4+1 to $5+1 on July 1st, 2014 and is higher than what nearly all other casinos in the area offer ($4+1). Posting: New players need not post to enter a low-limit game. 20/40 and up are posting games. Shuffling: Most tables have Shufflemaster. Tournaments * Mon,Tue,Thu,Fri 10am: NLHE $30+$5 * Wed 10am: NLHE $50+$5 * Sat 10am: NLHE $60+$5 Jackpots and Promotions Standard bad beat jackpot is around $30000 (resets to $20000), requires both AAAXX or better as the losing hand with both players' hole cards playing (cannot counterfeit board kicker). Atmosphere Ocean's Eleven is a large, cool casino built around poker. It has a half dozen tables for Caribbean Stud and 21st Century Blackjack, but nearly all the casino is set up around poker. Both rooms are spacious with nice, even fancy, decor: large paintings hung on the wall, muted colors, etc. Big screen TVs are spaced about the rooms, though not very many, so they don't intrude if you aren't interested. The easygoing staff and large number of regulars keep games going all night, with many low limit games constantly in session. Dealers really know their stuff; players at low limits are generally friendly and having fun, even when losing. Most players are older regulars (especially for limit games), though there is a surge after the 1st and 15th of every month with military members from nearby Camp Pendleton. Tables and Chairs: 9-seat tables with worn, slightly rough and fluffy felt. Fixed leg chairs with a moderate amount of padding aren't uncomfortable but aren't particularly comfortable either. Tables are clustered together perhaps a bit more closely than one would like, but not claustrophobically so. New chairs with rollers now. Parking: Quite a bit of parking both in the lot surrounding the casino (perhaps 200 spaces) as well as a special lot across the street holding another 40-50 spaces. Smoking: No smoking allowed in the building under California law. Service and Comps Ocean's Eleven's claim to fame is its astonishing service. The waitresses come by fairly frequently, negotiating the minefield of closely-set tables and dozens of wheel-up eating tables. Why so much eating? Because O11's service menu is simply astounding. A wide array of dishes ranging from solid American food to Asian specialties to specials of the day, right up to New York Strip steak, can be had for a fraction of their normal price. The food is of good quality, sometimes very good, and is always cheap for players at tables. Examples: A burger with fries is $1. A platter of beer-battered deep-fried chicken fingers with ranch dressing is also only $1. The aforementioned steak is only $5. A grilled ground beef patty with mashed potatoes, green beans, dressing, and gravy is only $2.50. If you like to play poker, O11 is the place to eat! O11 also offers a Players Club card. Usually they have a Racing for Dollars promotion that will pay the player back a set amount depending on the number of hours clocked in. Also during football season, they usually have cash drawings on Sundays and Mondays. Cash drawings are also done every hour in the afternoon/evenings most days, but chance of winning is based on number of hours played in the past week and most often players not present end up winning the large prizes (which devolves to a $100 prize which is drawn until someone is present to win it). Overall promotions are really only worthwhile for regulars. Most food is free in the 20/40 and up limit games. Links and Notes *Official site *Visited by MarkT a few times: Jul 2005 and Jul 2006. * Visited by Youppi numerous times, Jan-Jul 2014